The Scarlet Spring
by tragedyneverends
Summary: The ache in her heart is tortuous. She wishes she could be stronger than this, or that she were indifferent to all this. She wishes she didn't love her father so much. She fears that she loves him so much.
1. Prologue

The Scarlet Spring

 _Prologue_

* * *

Her father often reminds her of a storm.

She can't really explain why. It's not because he is dangerous – although he is; he is Uchiha Sasuke, a dangerously powerful shinobi with a big reputation, she knows. It's not because he frightens her, either – not always, at least; and not in a bad way.

Maybe it's because of his presence. It is like roaring thunder: impossible to ignore or suppress. He is also mysterious and gloomy, like a dark sky full of clouds, and at times comforting, like the rain. But she knows it's not only that. There is something beyond all that, something... overwhelming. Scary, yet beautiful. Unsettling, yet inspiring. Chaotic, yet soothing.

Her father, she thinks, is sublime.

She wonders if she is sublime, too, at least a little. She is, after all, his one and only child, the sole inheritor of his legacy – a legacy drenched in blood and tears, and in raw, natural power. People say she is just like him all the time. They say she has his dark, cold eyes, even despite the fact that the shape of them is definitely her mother's. Also her hair, her nose, her ears, as well as her smirk, her glare, and some other gestures – they are all his. But she wonders – truly and earnestly – if their similarities go beyond the physical appearance, or even a few personality traits.

She wonders, more often than she should, if she is, or can be some day, as sublime like him.

She doesn't want to, though. She doesn't need to. Merely, she wonders not with longing, but... with fear.

Being his daughter is both a blessing and a curse, she thinks. Having his name and his blood in her veins makes her special in the eyes of many, principally because of her abilities, her eyes, her potential. However, he is a man with a stained, though redeemed, soul. He committed many sins, although she doesn't consider them sins, just mistakes. They were dark, dark mistakes, though. He almost got lost because of them. She has heard the stories, though not all of them. Every time she does, she fears. She fears for her father – her dear, dear Papa – even if she knows everything turns out okay. She fears for what could have been; for what would never be. She fears him: his past self, at least.

But mostly, she fears for herself. She fears that curse that is said to run through her veins, just like it did in Papa's and in some of her ancestors'. The Curse of Hate. Papa was saved from it. What if she isn't? What if it kills her? And who will be to blame?

Fear: that is the essence of her mixed feelings towards the man who gave life to her. Fear of the person he once was. Fear of losing him. Fear of making the same mistakes he did. Fear of not being good enough to be called his daughter. Fear of fearing him too much.

She wishes she could speak to him about it. She wishes she could tell him everything, so that he could clear her doubts, give her advise, comfort her, tell her it's all going to be okay. She wishes he would speak to her like that. She often needs him to.

But he... he is he. He is Sasuke Uchiha. He never says enough. He always feels too much. And, in that way, she is just like him indeed.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

That day she wakes up, just as the sun is rising, from a dream that is actually a memory.

" _Because you exist, Sarada._ "

The warm, fuzzy feelings provoked by that memory do not leave her as she rises from her bed and gets ready to go meet her team by the Hokage tower.

She runs downstairs, to the kitchen, to have a quick breakfast. Her mother is there, washing the dishes and humming contentedly.

Sakura Uchiha hums and sings a lot lately, which shows how happy she is. The reason of such happiness is definitely the presence of her husband, which has been stable for two years now. Sarada is happy to have him back, too, but in a slightly different way. Maybe it's different because he is her father, not the love of her life, and because she has been used to his absence for as long as she can remember, while her mother hasn't.

Sometimes, Sarada wonders if she will ever love someone like her mother loves her father. To her, that kind of love seems painful, but very beautiful. She certainly hopes she will.

"Good morning, Sarada!"

She smiles at her mother, calmed by the sight of her dazzling green eyes, her shoulder-length hair, her lovely smile. In a world where her Mama exists, Sarada knows nothing can ever go wrong. "Good morning, Mama. Where's Papa? Still asleep?"

"Not today," Sakura laughs. "He got up early to go meet with Naruto."

"Mama, why do you keep calling him that?" she asks amusedly, sitting at the small table in the middle of the kitchen. "He's the Hokage now, you know?"

Her mother's lips pull into a soft, nostalgic smile. "I just can't help it. He's still my dumb, loud, obnoxious teammate for me. He'll always be."

Sarada laughs and thinks that, if Boruto or Mizuki became Hokage one day - which they better not, because that is _her_ future spot and no one else's! – they would probably still be her annoying teammates, no matter what, and for the rest of their lives.

Her mother offers her breakfast. She accepts with the condition of making it brief, for she has to meet her team in twenty minutes. Sakura leaves the dishes and starts to prepare a small meal: onigiris, Sarada's and her father's favorite. While she does that, Sarada voices a doubt.

"So why did Papa go meet with the Nanaidame? What does he even do lately, Mama? I've been hearing that things are super peaceful not just in Konoha, but in other neighbor villages. What things does he have to deal with if there are no actual threats anymore?"

"You know that's confidential stuff, Sarada," Sakura says, but mockingly, because she is echoing what her father always tells her when she asks about his missions. Both of them giggle, and then Sakura says, "To be honest, honey, I'm not quite sure. Lately, he's been dealing with simple international affairs. He's a sort of ambassador, you see, so that's why he travels sometimes, but only for a couple of days. He's also been investigating more about out clan."

"Still?" Sarada questions, amazed, because from what she has heard from him, he already investigated plenty. What other secrets can this clan, of which he was the sole survivor before she was born, have?

"New things always come up. The clan's history... well. You know. It's troubled." Sarada nods, briefly remembering names like Madara and Obito and Itachi, and her mother continues. "Anyway, that's what he's been doing. Today, though, I don't know what Naru – I mean, the Nanaidame wanted to discuss with him. Those two are always dealing with their own stuff, without telling anyone else. Trust me, I've known this for more than twenty years now."

Her doubt as resolved as it can be, the conversation shifts to other topics until breakfast is ready. Sarada eats quickly, listening as her mother babbles about her medic pupils, and when she's done, she thanks her with a kiss on the cheek and then runs off to meet her team.

* * *

Boruto has changed a lot since that time, two years ago, when the village got attacked and he, along with her father and the other Hokage, went to rescue the Nanaidame. He is way more mature than before, and less cocky, less obnoxious. She tolerates him better this way. This also has to do with what he said that one time about not wanting to be Hokage, but to protect her when she is instead. It really warmed her heart to see how certain he was that she would reach her goal, and how willing he was to stand by her side in the future. Ever since that time, she sees him in a different light.

And it's sort of bothersome at times.

"Sarada! Look out!"

Startled out of her thoughts, she turns just in time to see the wild raccoon jumping towards her. She shields her face with one arm and, with the other, she pulls out a couple of shuriken and throws it at the animal right when it is merely two feet from her. The shuriken do not touch it – just as she planned; she likes animals, even if they're rabid, and doesn't want to hurt any – but they manage to scare the raccoon into changing the direction of its flight and, instead, crashing against a nearby tree with a loud thud and a brief squeal.

Face contorted in anger – an anger directed at herself for getting easily distracted with her own useless thoughts –, Sarada lands swiftly on the ground and runs to see how the animal is. It seems to have hurt itself; it's trembling against the base of the tree and holding one of its paws, probably broken or fractured. Her eyes soften with pity and slight remorse just as she hears her teammates and her sensei land behind her.

"Well," Konohamaru-sensei says as he slowly approaches the creature and wraps a safety blanket around it, "you immobilized it. Good job, Sarada. You finished the mission. Just pay more attention. Just because you're a chunnin now doesn't mean you can lower your guard."

"Sorry, sensei," she mutters ashamedly. She hates not doing things as easy as capturing an animal perfectly, despite her recent new rank. If only she hadn't been thinking about stupid Boruto...

"Is it too hurt, sensei?" Mitsuki asks at her right.

Konohamaru-sensei peeks into the trembling blanket. "I think it hurt its paw. I hope it's not too bad. We'll see in a few minutes, I guess."

A hand pats her shoulder gently and she hears said annoying blond say at her left, "Don't worry, Sarada. I'm sure it'll be alright. Let's just get it to the vet, so they can also cure his rabies."

He knows she is concerned about having hurting the animal. It's like he can read her mind – like he is _meant_ to be her right-hand man one day; her shield and sword; her... closest friend? No, no thank you. She doesn't want him like that. He is a good teammate and all, but at least now, she doesn't want to depend on him, to need him, to _like_ him. Damn Boruto.

Can their connection be related to the fact that their fathers are reincarnated brothers, or something like that? Is Boruto sort of like his reincarnated cousin, therefore? Well, she doesn't want a stupid prodigy cousin to protect her and be so nice to her. She can do well on her own.

"Hmph." Briskly, she shakes his hand off her and proceeds to lead the way towards the veterinary. "Let's just go."

* * *

She gets home a few hours later, tired, annoyed, and hungry. Barefoot, she walks into the house – their second one, after Mama destroyed the first in a fit of anger. All lights are off, but the rooms are bathed in the hazy, orange light of the sunset.

"I'm home," she calls out, but nobody answers. She frowns in confusion, and then remembers Mama is at the hospital until late today, because a new crowd of soon-to-be medic nins is getting tested by her tonight. She smiles a little as she imagines how nervous those kids, barely a couple of years younger than her perhaps, must be feeling right now at the prospect of being about to be tested by the best medic in not just in the village, but probably in the entire world. Even Sarada, her own daughter, feels kind of nervous when Mama teaches her something. Uchiha Sakura, when it comes to her abilities and powers, is intimidatingly talented.

Mama is certainly not home, but what about Papa? He must be back already. His reunion with the Nanaidame could not have lasted all day, unless he had to leave the village suddenly and is coming back another day. In that case, is there something wrong? Is there a new threat to the village? She remembers those guys that attacked them a couple of years ago, those guys with that incredible power, and her knees get weak again. She had fallen to the ground in both amazement and fear that time, because she realized the type of power she had to be able to fight if she wanted to be Hokage one day. She just couldn't picture herself as strong as, or stronger than, those people, and that frightened her.

Sarada walks to the kitchen and checks for any note from Mama telling her that Papa won't be back early today either, but there is none. Mama always makes sure to do that, to never leave Sarada in the dark of what Papa is doing anymore, so that must mean Papa is either coming back soon or already home.

"Papa?" she calls out, not really expecting to hear a reply, but she does.

"I'm in the study, Sarada."

Hearing his voice, sensing his presence, still manages to thrill her. After spending most of her life coming home to one parent only, having another parent waiting for her at home fills her with a quiet, childish joy. Smiling, she runs towards the study upstairs, that small room filled with Papa's books and weapons, and other ancient things from her ancestors that she doesn't quite recognize.

She finds Papa sitting at his desk with several sheets sprawled before him. But he isn't reading them; he is looking at her, one corner of his lips pulled slightly upwards in a welcoming gesture. "How did your mission go?"

She puts on her cocky facade on, the one she likes to wear when she tells him about her accomplishments in hopes she will seem good enough to make him super proud. "It was a dumb D-ranked mission. We caught the raccoon easily – or rather, I did; I managed to immobilize it. It, um, it hurt itself, though, when I caught him... But it's okay! We took it to the vet and they said it just had a splinter on its paw. They also cured its rabies. It's one happy, healthy raccoon now!"

The small smile on his face twitches and he lets out a soft snort. "Well done, Sarada."

Oh, how she loves to hear those words.

It is rarely that she and her father have some actual alone time. She does see him every day and all, but most of the times, Mama is around. It is different when she isn't. It's rather uncomfortable, in fact, because Sarada feels pressured to show Papa that she is a good daughter, a good ninja, a good Uchiha. ThWhen they're alone together, she tries to make the best of it; she tells him about her success, her aspirations, her doubts about the shinobi world. He listens to her, talks little, but what matters is that he is there; he is staying.

Eagerly, she sits on the edge of the desk and tries not to glance at the sheets on it. She knows Papa doesn't like it when she sneaks into adult business, even if she's already thirteen and, in her opinion, mature enough to understand. She even – kind of – understands now why he had to be away for so long. She knows all about the war, and Kaguya, and Madara. She's a big girl, she deserves to know things, but she respects Papa too much to defy him in these matters.

"What about you, Papa? How was your day?"

He grabs the papers and puts them away, into a drawer, which lets her know they have something to do with his reunion with the Nanaidame. Once, just once, she glances at them, but they are gone too soon to even read a word on them. "Busy," he answers calmly, before rising to his feet. "And rather boring."

"Still not used to being in the village instead of traveling around the world, huh?"

He chuckles and pats her head gently. "I guess not. Are you hungry?"

"Very much!"

"Then let's go cook something nice."

* * *

The evening is lovely because she spends it by her father's side: cooking, talking, and listening. Papa is acting nicer than usual, and instead of suspecting, Sarada is grateful. Maybe he is doing it because he knows she had a rather bad day. Her day has ended up being not so bad because of that. So when Mama finally gets home, Sarada is in a good mood, totally different from the one she came home in.

"Well, something smells delicious!" Mama exclaims happily as she enters the kitchen to find father and daughter setting the table. "What is this? What are we celebrating?"

"Nothing, Mama," Sarada replies, taking her over-sized apron off. "We just felt like cooking tonight."

They eat in a silence pleasantly filled with Mama's blabbering about her pupils. She is ecstatic because most of them passed the test and seem to be naturally talented. It gives her lots of hope for the future generations. She and Papa are always talking about the future generations. They seem obsessed with the future itself. Sarada thinks it's because their past was very messy, and they just want the best for others. They don't want today's children to suffer like they did when they were children. They don't want _her_ to suffer like they did. And she won't. She knows that they have made sure of it.

When they finish eating, Sarada cleans the table. Mama and Papa tell her they will do the dishes, so she should go take a shower and get ready for bed. It sort of annoys her that they order her around like she is a child, but she also sort of likes it. She spent her actual childhood with just Mama ordering her around, after all; having Papa doing it too is somehow nice. Also, she knows her parents just want some alone time – as if they didn't have enough. But well, they did spent many years away from each other, even though Sarada suspects they did meet occasionally. She couldn't imagine being able to stand not seeing your husband or wife for so long. Just imagining how it is for them to finally see each other everyday again makes her blush and really, really want to leave them alone.

Sarada goes take her shower and put pajamas on. When she goes back downstairs, just to say good night to her parents, she expects to find them on the couch, cuddling or something. But when she goes into the living room, they aren't there. Also, all the lights are off – all except those of the kitchen. They must be there still. Could doing the dishes really take them so long?

When she enters the kitchen, she sees all the dishes clean, and her parents standing in a corner, Mama against the wall and Papa facing her, and – something is off. She knows it immediately, even without seeing their faces. She can sense it in the air. Dread makes her stomach drops, but she forces herself to speak. "Mama? Papa?"

Papa turns around slowly. His dark eyes are glassy and his lips are set in a stern line. Mama steps around him and walks towards Sarada. Her green eyes are bloodshot and her smile is broken. Sarada gets it then.

"You're leaving." She's looking right at her father, ignoring her mother as she kneels before her. "Papa, you... you're leaving?"

"Sarada," Mama says, holding her forearms; it sounds almost like a pleading. "Darling, look at me."

But she can't. Her eyes are drawn to her father's, as if their kekkei genkai bounded them. She thinks about his reunion with the Nanaidame, about the papers on his desk, about his unusually nice attitude, about the day they reunited after not seeing him for years. Is it happening again? Is he going to be away for another decade? Will she not remember him again? Were these two years he spent with them meaningless?

 _You were not good enough to make him want to stay._

Deep down, Sarada is still angry, so angry. She says she understands why he had to be gone for so long, but she just pretends. She doesn't really understand. It's just too hard, too unconceivable. He never visited her. He never took breaks. He wanted to do all the job himself, even if it meant not seeing his only child for so many years. He cared more about the village than about his own family. No one can be that selfless. Maybe he simply never cared about them enough. Maybe they were not – they are not – as important to him as he and Mama claim. Maybe their love is not enough. Why else would he be about to leave again now?

"Sarada," he says, eyes softening, as if he could read her mind – like Boruto. Maybe he has been teaching him that; after all, he teaches that guy more than he teaches his own daughter.

 _He really doesn't care about you, see?_

"How dare you," she utters, the words charged with so much venom that it startles her.

"There is another threat out there," Mama says quickly, desperate to clarify this, "and it is very probable that is related to Kaguya. Only your father can deal with it if it is. He has to go. You know-"

"How dare _you_ ," she interrupts, finally looking at her mother. "How can you be okay with this? Stop trying to justify him. It's not okay! It's not fair!"

"Sarada-"

"You never even apologized," she tells her father, shaking her mother's hands off and stalking towards him. "You never actually explained things to me yourself. You never _cared_. I had to go and find you and _demand_ answers from you. And even after you came back, Mama did all the explaining. Mama had to do everything, as always. You just leave it all to her and you pretend to be a martyr in order to get rid of me."

"Sara-"

"No! Shut up! You're a terrible father! You never wanted a child; you never wanted a family! If you did, you would have never left – not back then, and not now again!"

Eyes stinging with tears and with the Sharingan, awakened by this turmoil of emotions, Sarada spins around and runs out of the kitchen. She goes upstairs to her bedroom, locks the door, and hides beneath the covers. There, she allows herself to cry freely. Her sobs shake her body violently and she can barely breathe. The ache in her heart is tortuous. She wishes she could be stronger than this. She wishes she were indifferent to all this.

She wishes she didn't love her father so much.

She _fears_ that she loves him so much.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

Sarada pretends to hate her father for the next two days before he leaves. She gives him the cold shoulder, doesn't speak a word to him, barely looks at him, leaves when he enters the room. She cringes at the mere mention of him. She scoffs at the sound of his voice.

But a knot in her throat forms when she sees his things laying around the house, or catches his smell, or remembers the nice things he has done during these two years. She is going to miss him terribly, despite everything. If she is avoiding him now, it's because she is trying to prepare herself for having him gone again. She is trying to build armor, to be strong.

It's funny feeling this way. She is sad, yet furious. She wants to punch her Papa, but also hug him and never let him go. She wants to never speak to him, but also learn from him all she can before he goes. She wants him to just leave already, but also to stay with them forever. It's confusing, and painful.

She doesn't truly hate her father. She loves him, with all her heart and her soul. She knows he loves her and her mother too. If she ever doubts him, it's because she can't really understand what he does. She isn't mature enough; she knows. But that's something she can't accept, even to herself. So she pretends she does understand, and she does hate him, and she does doubt him. It helps her cope.

It is hard to hate one of your parents, principally because you never actually want to. You want to love your parents, even after they hurt you. There are degrees of hurt, of course. There are things that are unforgivable. But Sarada thinks she can forgive her father one day, when he deserves it. Just not now; not soon; she doesn't really know.

All she knows is that she has never been more certain of the path she wants for her life: a path opposite from her father's; a path that isn't selfless, and doesn't force her to leave her family behind.

* * *

She doesn't pretend to hate her mother, just to ignore her. But it's much harder to be cold towards her. She is, after all, the sole person Sarada allows herself to depend on. She is the one who has always been with her, and whom she's always needed for everything and anything. She thinks that, once Papa leaves, Mama and her will fix things up, be close again, and support each other; but not before.

Mama seems sad. She doesn't smile nor hum those two days after Papa tells the news. Mama's changed Everything's changed. The house is too quiet, too gloomy. Sarada hates it. And it's all Papa's fault.

One the second day after they got the news, Sarada is heading out to meet her team for a C-ranked mission, when Mama's voice stops her.

"Sarada, Papa leaves tomorrow morning."

She knows that. Still, hearing it makes her heart break.

"You're coming to the gates of the village to say goodbye, right?"

She doesn't reply; she has no answer.

"Papa would really want you to be there."

"Why doesn't he tell me so himself?" Sarada snaps, glaring at her mother over her shoulder.

"He'd like to, but... you know how he is."

"And what are you, his messenger? Funny. I thought you were his wife."

Anger lights up Mama's pretty green eyes for a moment, and then she seems to regain composure. "Darling, don't be irrational. Papa is not coming back in who knows how long. If it's the last time we see him-"

"You mean he's probably going to die out there?"

Mama is shocked at the words. "What? No, I don't mean that!"

"Well, maybe he _should_ die."

This time, Mama doesn't bother to conceal her anger. "Uchiha Sarada, what the hell are you saying!"

"Nothing!" she screams, and because she is about to cry, she just turns and runs out of the house at full speed. She doesn't want to look at nor listen to her mother any longer. She doesn't want to face this ugly reality.

* * *

It comes as no surprise that Boruto notices something is wrong with her. She practically expects him to.

It is the end of that day – the last day her father will be in the village in a long while. Their mission is finished. Konohamaru-sensei and Mitzuki already went home. Sarada and Boruto are walking in the same direction because they live in close neighborhood, but just when they are about to part ways, Boruto stops her.

"Hey, Sarada, can we talk?"

She regards him with a curious stare. "About what?"

"Well... you know, I heard about... well, your Dad."

Immediately, she says, "No."

Boruto frowns. "Come on, I think we should. I know you're angry and sad and all, but you gotta-"

"You know nothing about me. You don't know how I feel, or what I gotta do, so don't even try to guess it. Mind your own damn business, shannaro!"

She turns and begins to walk away, but Boruto follows her. "See? You're angry! And sad, too. I can see it in your eyes. But mostly, I know it because that's _exactly_ how I would feel if I were you."

Abruptly, she stops. "Really?"

"Yeah! You know, I used to feel this way towards my Dad, but I came to learn and understand that he's just not perfect. He tries his best, but no one is born the perfect father. I think you should consider that."

But Sarada thinks his father is better than hers. At least his father stays in the village, and is a true hero and the Hokage, and didn't pass him on a curse. It's not the same situation at all.

"It's totally understandable to feel this way," he continues. "You don't have to hide it, you know? You can talk about it. With me. Uh, if you want, that is."

Sarada considers it for a moment. Would it really hurt to talk about it? Maybe not. And wouldn't it be better to do it with someone who would really understand her, because he has also had issues with his father? She guesses it would be. She looks into Boruto's eyes, which are just a shade lighter than his father's. She parts her lips and is about to say something, but she realizes that she can't. She doesn't even know what to say; not yet.

"The thing is," she says tiredly, "I don't want to. Not now. Still... thanks, Boruto."

He seems disappointed, and defeated. "Okay. Fair enough. Just know that I'm here when you're ready."

She manages a small smile and then continues walking. He doesn't follow her this time. She is genuinely grateful. That's why, little by little, she allow herself to being to acknowledge him as her soon-to-be right-hand man. It can't be too bad, can it?

She can't help to be secretly glad he is there to support her. It is, truthfully, rather nice to have someone like that in her life: someone that, no matter what, will be there for her, unlike her father.

* * *

The next morning, she lays awake as she hears her parents shuffle around in the next room. She pictures Papa getting dressed, packing his things, tucking their family picture inside his pocket, and kissing Mama goodbye. It's their last kiss in a long time. She pities them a lot; she suffers for them, too.

She then hears them walk down the stairs, and she expects to hear the door open and close, but she doesn't. They seem to be waiting for something: for her to come down and go with them. But she won't. She can't. She lays in bed, under her covers, her face pressed against the pillow, and waits for them to give up. She begins to cry only when she finally does hear them exit the house.

Papa is gone. Gone for a long while. Gone, perhaps, forever. No, no; she can't even stand that thought. It hurts so, so much. She wants to run outside and stop him and force him to say, but it'd be useless. She can't force him. She's not strong enough. She's not good enough.

The sun is getting higher in the sky. She begins to doze off after so much crying. Today, she doesn't want to get out of bed. She just wants to sleep and dream of Papa, of him staying, of him loving her. She closes her eyes and wishes with all her heart that the pain will go away, if only for a while.

But just as she begins to lose her grip on reality, she is abruptly awakened by a loud explosion in the distance. Alarmed, Sarada jumps to her feet and looks out her window. A cloud of thick, black smoke is rising to the sky from a place north from her house: a place still within the village.

"What the hell is going on," she wonders out loud, hoping it's just a prank or a small incident, but knowing, due to the bad feeling in her chest, that it isn't.

Suddenly, there is another explosion. This time it is in the east; she sees the fire just from the corner of her eye. The commotion is in another direction, in the east, but also close enough to be within the village. Slowly, she becomes certain something bad is happening. And just as she decides to put her clothes on and go outside, she hears it: a third explosion, this time in the west.

The village is being attacked.

* * *

She is running towards the gates, with only one thing in mind: finding her parents to make sure they are okay, and to seek shelter in them.

She has to admit it: she is scared. The last time the village was attacked, and the only one she has lived through, things got real scary. The Hokage was kidnapped and almost killed. A quarter of the village was left practically in ruins. The hospital was full for a week straight; Mama barely slept because she was the one in charge and she was super busy. Had it not been for Papa and Boruto and the other Hokages, the Nanaidame would not have come back – and what then? The end of the world? Probably. What if this time was just like that one? What if this time not even Papa could help? What if it was all even worse?

She needs Mama. She needs Papa. She needs to find courage in them, despite their conflicts. This is much more important than anything else.

"Sarada!"

It's Boruto. She stops in the middle of the empty street, in the center of the village, and looks up at the roofs of the nearest building. Boruto is jumping off of it, with Mitzuki right behind him. She has never been more relieved to see those two.

"Guys!" she exclaims, running towards them. "What's going on?"

"We aren't sure either," Mitzuki says. "A very large group of cloaked men have suddenly entered the village. However, their intention doesn't seem to be to destroy it. They seem to be looking for something or someone in particular."

"The Nanaidame?" Sarada asks, thinking again of those guys that last attacked the village.

"No," Boruto says. "Dad is actually chasing them around. But they're too many. They're also spread around the entire village. They've been causing explosions in all sides of the village, except-"

He is interrupted by the fourth explosion. Sarada says its direction aloud as the three of them watch the smoke rise, horrified: "South."

"Why the hell are they doing this?" Boruto questions, furious, protective.

"I think they want to make all the people come out running of the buildings," Mitzuki says. "I think they're looking for a certain someone among them. I even saw some of them intercept people and then leave them when they realized it's not who they want."

Sarada chews on her lips anxiously, heart beating wildly. She has a really, really bad feeling, that only keeps getting worse. She is no mood to fight. She is too emotionally vulnerable at the moment, as well as tired from crying and thinking so much these past couple of days. She just wants this to stop.

"A group of them is coming!" Boruto shouts suddenly.

Instantly, out of instinct, adrenaline rushes through Sarada's veins and she is on guard. They all turn to where the group of five to seven cloaked figures come running. They seem normal people, but they are showing no skin aside from their eyes, so maybe they aren't even people. They could be monsters, or just clones, or illusions. But that doesn't matter now. Sarada just knows she wants them out of her village. Blinking her eyes into the Sharingan, she decides to make sure of that.

Each of them takes on two cloaked figures. Sarada kicks and punches with all her might, her eyes giving her the advantage of predicting their moves. However, that doesn't prove to be as helpful as it usually is. Even with her eyes and her speed, these guys seem too fast. Several times, they come close to hitting her. Her teammates are having a hard time too, even with their own abilities.

Eventually, she grows a little tired, and she is unable to move in time to dodge one kick. The guy's foot hits her in the stomach, leaving her breathless, and she falls to the ground. She hears her teammates scream her name, and she opens her eyes just in time to see the same guy that kicked her direct his fist towards her face, and she opens her mouth but no sound comes out, and-

"Don't touch my daughter, you jerk!"

Sarada's chest, formerly oppressed with dread, now fills with relief. "Mama!"

Uchiha Sakura punches the guy into a building in one single swift move. The guy is left unconscious and there is a new crater on the building's wall. But Sarada can barely register what has happened before all she sees is her mother worried faces, and all she feels is her soft hands pulling her to her feet, and all she hears is her voice.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you bleeding anywhere? Oh God, I was so scared. We didn't find you in the house and we thought you-"

"Mama! I'm fine."

The woman wraps her in a tight, brief embrace, and then pulls away to look behind her. Sarada glances in the same direction and is surprised to see that all the other five men have been defeated. Boruto and Mitzuki are dusting off their clothes, and with them stand the Nanaidame and... and Papa.

Their eyes meet for one second, before Sarada looks away, half ashamed and half relieved.

"Dad, what's happening?" Boruto is demanding. "Who are these people? They're everywhere, and they're so many!"

"Are they clones?" Mitzuki asks. "Who is the leader?"

"We don't know, boys," the Nanaidame says. Sarada's stomach sinks when she notices how concerned and genuinely confused he is. "This is all happening so suddenly. We didn't see it coming. We can't even locate all of them, or where they're coming from."

"Dad," Boruto says, suddenly stern, gripping his father's arm. "Mom and Himawari."

"I know." Raising two fingers to his chest, the Nanaidame effortlessly creates several clones. A moment later, they are all running in different directions, spreading around the village, just like the enemies. "One of them will find them. Right now, I need you to stay with me, Boruto. This seems serious. We ought to fight together."

 _Fight together._ Sarada wonders if she will ever hear her father tell her the same thing. Envy of Boruto momentarily distracts her, so she barely reacts when Mama suddenly yells, "More are coming!"

At first, Sarada sees just a group twice as big as the previous one, appearing from the rooftops and the alleys. But then, another group, even bigger, appears. And more groups. And more. And even more.

"What the hell?" Boruto whispers as him, Sarada, their teammate, and the three Neo-Sannin stand in a circle, with their backs to each other, and surrounded by at least a hundred cloaked figures.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

Sarada is trembling, one arm against Boruto, the other gripped by her mother.

"Damn it," the Nanaidame mumbles, a deep frown between his eyebrows. "Sasuke?"

"I'm taking the ones behind us," Papa says. Sarada glances up at him and the concentrated determination on his face rather intimidates her.

"Sakura?" the Nanaidame calls.

"I'm on the right," Mama says calmly, letting go of her arm.

"That means I'm on the left. Kids, stay right here, okay? Don't inter-"

Before he can even finish the word, a voice interrupts him.

"So _there_ she is!"

An instant later, a new figure appears. It is a man, cloaked like the others, but much bulkier, and with its head uncovered to reveal an unfamiliar, hideous, white face. He is jumping out of the crowd and towards them.

No, not towards them. Towards _her_.

Sarada is taken off guard. She truly never expected the man to attack her directly. That is why she doesn't react soon enough. The man's hand would have gotten around her neck if Papa had not pulled her away from his reach. She admonishes herself for not being able to protect herself – but then again, she really wasn't expecting this; it paralyzed her.

The other cloaked figures have started to attack. Mama and the Nanaidame, and despite the Hokage's order, even her teammates, fight them as she and Papa jump upon a roof. His sole arm is wrapped tightly around her waist. She looks at him, astonished, but he isn't looking at her. He is looking – no, _glaring_ at the bulkier cloaked person, who stands on the roof of the building in front of theirs. Sarada watches him as he grins wickedly at them, trying to recognize him, but she can't. She has never seen him before in her entire life.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the man says, his grin split across his pale face, making him look even worse. "Nice to finally meet you." His features are unpleasant; he has no eyebrows, his lips practically nonexistent, and he has no nose, only two holes where his nostrils ought to be, like a snake. He looks as ugly as he looks evil, and maybe that's that: his evilness is physically visible. His hair is shoulder-length, covering his forehead, and dark like oil. His left eye is sewn shut with black thread that contrasts strikingly with his skin. His other eye is wide open, totally white, and surrounded by protuberant veins: the Byakugan. Is he a Hyuga? She can't believe it. The Hyugas she knows, Boruto's maternal family, are pretty and nice, not at all like him.

"Who are you?" Papa questions through gritted teeth, voicing the question echoing in Sarada's head since the man appeared. Papa's knuckles are white as he holds on to her tightly, as if afraid to let her fall. He is seething with rage; she can sense it, and it makes her nervous.

"She has grown so much!" the man says, ignoring the question, and now his sole eye is upon Sarada. His stare is deeply unsettling. A shiver runs down her spine, but she tries to conceal it. "She is so beautiful, like her mother! Hey, how old is she? Thirteen, right? Not a child anymore!"

Papa says nothing. His grip on Sarada tightens slightly. She would feel discomfort if she weren't so distracted. She is utterly perplexed. What does this man want? Why does he seem to be after _her_? What is happening?

The man looks at Papa again, his grin turning into an impish smirk. "You've heard about me, haven't you, Sasuke?"

"Yes," Papa says at last. "I was hoping to find you before you found us, though."

"Well," he laughs, "so I've heard! Now, I love our talks and all, but let's cut to the chase. I have a pair of young, pretty eyes to steal."

Sarada's breath gets stuck in her throat as the realization hits her. This man _is_ after her, and only her. That is why he attacked the village, with these other people that seem to be his minions. That is why they all seemed to be looking for something or someone. And what they were looking for, what he wants, is her and her Sharingan.

Based on this discovery, her brain starts to make inferences, desperate to make sense of things. He must be a doujutsu collector, or another weirdo obsessed with her recently-revived clan. He must want her because she is younger and weaker than the only other possessor of the Sharingan in the world: Papa. Also, Papa only has one Sharingan; the other is a Rinnegan. She is indeed a valuable prey – and that makes her feel so vulnerable, for she is not as indestructible as she thought she was.

Papa's response brings her back to reality. His words come out in a growl that makes her heart tumble: "Over my dead body."

The man lets out a maniac laugh, "Gladly!" Then, he jumps forward, towards them.

The next thing she knows is that Papa has left her side suddenly. He has teleported right behind the man and is about to stab his back with his sword – when the man suddenly vanishes, as well. He reappears on the ground beneath, just a few feet from where the Nanaidame is shoving a Rasengan into an enemy's torso. Papa curses out loud and descends to the ground, to continue fighting.

Sarada is paralyzed once more. She doesn't know what to do now that she understands what is going on. Should she fight? No. It's too risky. If she gets hurt, it is easier for the man to kidnap her. She shouldn't get in the way.

However, she doesn't want to just sit there on the roof and watch her parents, her teammates, and her Hokage risk their lives to protect hers. She wants to protect her own life. She wants to prove she can do it – to prove herself worthy of being her parent's daughter, and her teammate's teammate, and the Hokage's successor.

Plucking up courage, she pulls a kunai out and jumps off the roof. Her eyes bleed red again, its two black commas spinning as an enemy approaches her. She begins to fight him, fully aware of another enemy creeping up to her from behind. In the precise moment, she throws her kunai at him, while she punches the other in the face, exclaiming, "Shannaro!"

The enemy is sent flying backwards, almost bringing Boruto with him if he hadn't gotten out of the way in time. The blond looks at her with surprise, which makes her smile.

"Sarada!" Mama's voice brings her back to reality. "What are you doing? Stay away! Stay safe!"

"I can protect myself, Mama!" Sarada exclaims, proceeding to do so.

* * *

They have been fighting for a while now. Other people have come to help them out. Among them are Boruto's mom, Shikadai's parents, Inojin's parents, and Choucho's parents too. If Sarada recalls correctly, all the famous rookie nine are here, fighting together, alongside other remarkable shinobi in the village. This would have helped a lot, and they would have won by now... if the enemies had not triplicated their numbers in a matter of minutes.

They keep coming from who knows where. Sarada tries to analyze them as she continues to punch them. They are flesh and bones, so they are clones, but not shadow clones, or water clones, or any other type Sarada knows of. They seem to be actual humans, but at the same time, they aren't. She doubts they even have distinguishable features beneath their masks. Maybe they are like those children that Shin created: people with no actual identity, no actual autonomy. She thinks it's really creepy.

But creepier than that is how, when they are finally killed, they simply evaporate into black smoke that burns the skin, like acid, and smells of rusted metal.

The enemies have spread around the village once more, in order to break them apart. But Sarada is smart, and she knows that it's a terrible idea to get too far from her parents and the Hokage. They're the only ones she truly trusts to save her no matter what, the only ones whose power she does not doubt. She has more faith in them than in herself.

She is tired of fighting; everyone is, except the enemies, of course. Plus, the smell of rusted metal in the air is growing suffocating; she feels light-headed. Papa is still fighting the main guy, the strongest of all, the leader. He seems to want to keep him distracted so he won't get anywhere near Sarada, and it's working. Every time the guy tries to go for her, Papa gets in his way. The guy seems to be getting angrier by each failed attempt.

"You're even tougher than I thought," he tells Papa, smiling despite the hate in his white gaze. "I might have underestimated you, Sasuke."

Papa responds with a rain of shurikens. The man dodges them easily and laughs.

"Okay, okay!" he exclaims. "I get it. You want me to pull out the big guns? Fine!"

Sarada gasps, realizing that things are about to get worse. She pauses to watch as the guy jumps to a roof and raises his arms. The movement makes all the other enemies freeze, as if they were puppets, and he had stopped pulling their strings. Everyone else stops moving, too. Time seems to have frozen. The only movement she catches, from the corners of her eyes, are two figures rushing to stand in front of her: Mama and Papa. They almost block her sight of their enemy; she can barely seem him now, from above Mama's shoulder.

The guy has started to laugh again, hysterically. Behind her, she hears the Hokage ask, "Who the hell is this crazy dude?"

"He is the one we told you about, Naruto," Mama says, glancing at the Hokage briefly. Her pink hair is messy, her skin sweaty, and her eyes ablaze with green fire. Sarada is amazed by her beauty. "The one after Sarada."

Sarada frowns and cannot stop herself from saying, "You knew he'd be coming for me?"

Mama looks at her, gaze softening with sadness. "We didn't know it'd be this soon. Papa meant to find him before it happened."

 _That's why he was going to leave_ , Sarada realizes, eyes widening and watering. _The threat out there - it probably wasn't even related to Kaguya; it was related to_ me _. It was a threat for_ me _. And Papa was leaving to find it, to protect me!_

"Papa," she whispers, but Papa is focused on the enemy as he continues to laugh. Sarada wants him to look at her and tell her it's true, he was leaving to protect her, not because he doesn't love her and their family. She _needs_ him to, before her heart bursts with regret and gratitude and love.

She is pulled out of her emotional thoughts by a sudden, loud, grumbling sound coming from their enemy on the roof. She gasps when her eyes fall back upon him and see something inside him moving around wildly, as if he were about to implode. It is a disgusting sight, as well as frightening. Whatever he is doing, it's going to decide the fate of this battle.

Blown by a slight breeze, his hair suddenly moves off his forehead to reveal a third eye on the middle of it: a third eye that is the Rinnegan. This means, of course, that he only needs her Sharingan to complete his collection. To get her is to succeed at last.

"This is not good," Papa mumbles. He turns to the Hokage and says sternly, "Everyone needs to get away from here. _Now_."

"What? Why?"

Papa turns back to the enemy and replies, "Shield the village, Naruto. Protect it and the villagers. We'll take care of this guy."

The Hokage hesitates for a moment, but then finally complies.

Sarada's knees are trembling, just like that time the Chunnin exams were interrupted. Her ears buzz, drowning out the sound of the Hokage telling everyone to retreat and of her fellow shinobi confusedly running away. She would have passed out if Mama had not put her arm around her shoulders and pressed her against her side, positioning her right between her parents. Her warm touch somehow anchors Sarada to reality. She closes her eyes and focuses on the sound of her and Papa's voices.

"Darling, what shall we do?"

"I need you both to stay here," Papa answers. "I cannot let you or Sarada out of my sight."

Sarada wants to cry. How did this day turn out so much worse than it was supposed to be? Things seem bad now, really bad. This guy is too dangerous, too powerful. Papa acknowledges it: not even he can beat him, not alone. But can they even beat him together? Can they really save her from him?

The air around her shifts as if Papa's Susanoo were enveloping them. She opens her eyes a little and sees that, certainly, that purple aura is around them. According to both what he has told her and what she has read about her clan, Papa's Susanoo is a weapon, but mostly, it is a shield; the strongest shield Sarada knows of, in fact. Therefore, this guy is about to do something they ought to be strongly shielded from. Something _bad_.

Suddenly, black stripes spread around the purple fortress. She recognizes them as the same on Mama's skin when she fully releases her seal. Sarada looks up and sees Mama's marks all over her body and a deep frown on concentration on her face. She is helping Papa like this, with her chakra. This means the shield is now twice as strong now. Sarada feels more secure, but still worried and uncertain. If not even this is enough to save her, nothing will ever be.

The clones attempt to break through the Susanoo without success. The gurgling sound that comes from their leader is getting louder. Finally, the noise concludes with an expected, even louder implosion. Sarada closes her eyes, too disgusted to look. When she opens them again, there is nothing but lots of black, poisonous smoke where the enemy once stood. This smoke is quickly spreading all over the streets. When it comes into contact with the Susanoo, it makes a sizzling sound, but the shield is not affected. Sarada realizes that Papa saw this coming and that's why he told the Hokage to get everyone as far as possible.

Abruptly, a heavy, tall figure appears amongst the smoke. It is the enemy, but... he has transformed. He is even bulkier, taller, scarier. His muscles are three times bigger; his face contorts into a menacing grin; his huge fists clench ad unclench with eagerness. Inadvertently, Sarada has stepped a little behind Papa, as if desperate to hide from this man's sight.

The man begins to laugh again. His voice is deeper, yet equally disturbing. "Well," he yells, "come on! Try and fail to protect your precious child so we can get this over with!"

Papa pulls out his sword and starts to step towards the enemy, closer to where the Susanoo ends. Sarada opens her mouth but panic seizes her throat and she can barely whimper. Mama puts her hand on her shoulder and flashes her a small smile that says, "It's okay. Don't worry. Papa will be okay." But Sarada doubts it. She is so scared. This man – she knows he is _not_ an ordinary enemy.

 _Papa, be careful_ , she says in her mind just before her father, covered in a faint glow of purple, dashes out of the Susanoo and towards the enemy, sword held high and ready.

The battle begins. Hopeful and frightened, Sarada watches her father's weapons clash against the enemy's skin and produce no wounds. It seems like this man is using some sort of strange technique that makes him bigger and stronger, as well as faster. His speed is now equal to her father's, which is surprising. Furthermore, his skin seems unbreakable, as if it were made of stone. What technique is this? How can he pull it off? If he seemed inhuman before, he definitely is it now.

In one brief moment, Papa is distracted by one of the clones, who is climbing up his Susanoo and trying to break through it to grab Sarada. This is enough for the enemy to make him lose his balance, as well as snatch his sword away. He then directs the sword to Papa's chest, and Papa cannot move fast enough, and Sarada screams.

The sword would have pierced him if the Hokage had not suddenly come to his aim, kicking the enemy into a building.

"You really thought I would leave all the fun to you, Sasuke?"

Breathing heavily, Papa rises from the ground and smiles at his reincarnated brother. Then, without another word, they move simultaneously and attack the same enemy with all their might.

* * *

When the Hokage joined the fight, Sarada's hope strengthened. She has as much faith in Boruto's father as anyone else in the village. She knows that he is as strong as, and perhaps even a little bit stronger than, her parents. There was no better person to support them than him. After all, him, Papa, and Mama defeated a goddess once, as well as other terrible enemies that happen to be her own ancestors. She knows there is no better team, no better chances to win this.

However, this hope gradually vanishes within a few minutes, as she watches the enemy respond to the attacks without restraint nor mistake. While Papa and the Hokage get tired and more frustrated, the enemy only gets stronger: he punches more fiercely, moves more quickly, dodges more swiftly.

"I'm getting bored!" he announces, grimacing, before abruptly putting his palms together and making them glow blue. "It's time to end this!"

And just like that, a current of something that seems to be a hybrid of lightning and water surges from his hands to the ground, and it resurges when it reaches Papa and the Hokage to electrocute them.

Mama reacts instantly and unexpectedly. She dashes out of the Susanoo before Sarada can even scream at her to stop. Any remnants of the poisonous smoke do not affect her at all, due to her still fully released seal. Fast and desperate, she jumps up and descends towards the enemy with her fist raised high, her teeth bared with fierceness, and a fervent word escaping her lips: "Shannaro!"

The enemy is caught slightly off guard, yet he manages to raise his fistion time, so that his and Mama's end up connecting. The impact is loud and it vibrates on the ground and in her bones. Both of them are pushed backwards by inertia. The enemy is as fast as Papa and as strong as Mama, evidently. That's not good. Sarada trembles inside the Susanoo with doom.

Papa and the Hokage were not gravely wounded by the past attack, but they do seem weakened. Papa can't move as fast anymore; he even trembles, as if a bit of electricity remained within him. The Hokage in on his knees, but he is creating two clones and sending them towards the enemy that Mama has joined the fight, it's three against one. It has to be enough, right? It has to mean they'll definitely triumph, right?

Sarada has never hoped more strongly for something before.

* * *

The enemy does not seem to care much for the Hokage and his attacks. What he is really aiming at is at Sarada's parents. She thinks it's personal at first. Since he wants her, he has to get rid of her parents first, then of anyone else in his way. But soon, she realizes exactly why he has been attacking them more than the Hokage.

The Susanoo.

In one terrible moment, the enemy gets his huge hand on Papa, grabs him, and throws him as far and hard as he can, towards the Hokage mountain. Papa manages to bounce back mid-flight, but he is met with another weird attack of two elements combined, this time a violent gust of fire and air. This, he definitely cannot bounce back from. It hits him hard and sends him crashing to the ground.

The Susanoo flickers, but Sarada's attention is quickly snatched from this fact when she sees Mama running to help Papa. The enemy is one step ahead of her, though. He gets his other hand on her, and though she is less easy to grab, he succeeds – and he tries to crush her to death.

"Mama!" Sarada screams, desperate to go rescue her. When she notices the black straps of the Susanoo are fading, the desperation grows unbearable.

Yet before she can even more, the Susanoo itself vanishes completely. With both her parents terribly wounded, it cannot be held up any longer, and she is left her bare and vulnerable to the world. Remnants of the poisonous smoke are still in the air. She feels them instantly on her skin, as it tingles unpleasantly, and in her burning nose and mouth, but she pays all this no mind. She is already running, punching her way through the sea of clones, towards the enemy, towards her mother.

"Sarada!" she hears the Hokage scream – and a second later, everything goes black.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

She is gone. Those three words keep ringing in Boruto's head, already losing all sense. She is gone. She is gone. She is gone.

She has bee taken. He thought that would never happen, especially from the moment he saw his father, his original form and not a clone, leave everyone protected in a glow of his yellow chakra, and head towards the enemy. He knew that if his father, along with Sarada's parents, fought that guy, there was no way he could beat them. They were the three strongest shinobi in the world, versus some guy no one had ever heard of. It was a no-brainer.

He had been wrong.

"We need to go rescue her," he tells his father as soon as he gets to the scene and sees their expressions and that Sarada and the enemies are nowhere to be seen. "Dad, we need to – She can't be – Dad!"

His father seems almost catatonic, as if he just could not believe he truly failed to protect the daughter of his two best friends, despite all his experience, his power, and his will. Boruto can't believe it either, but there is no time to dwell on it; they must act immediately.

"Where did they go?" he asks. "North, east, south? Maybe we can still catch up-"

"They went through a portal," Naruto replies, expressionless. "He has a Rinnegan."

"A Rinnegan?" Boruto repeats, incredulous. "Like uncle Sasuke's? Damn it. What else?"

"Byakugan. Wants Sarada's Sharingan. He... he is not a normal... being."

His father's perplexity and shock scare Boruto. There is something terrible in seeing your parent, who is usually who sure of himself that it comforts you, so confounded and vulnerable. His own certainty and courage being to evaporate, mirroring his father's.

Boruto shakes his head and tries to focus on solutions. _Be rational_ , he tells himself, _like Sarada always is!_ He goes over the facts. This is an enemy with a Rinnegan, a Byakugan, weird clones, and powers greater than the three Neo-Sannin's, as impossible as that seems. What else? What's his name? Where does he come from? Nobody seems to know. Even uncle Sasuke and aunt Sakura, the former standing a few feet from them and not moving at all, and the latter shaking slightly on her knees and hands, appear utterly lost. No knowledge, no information, no clues. What are they supposed to do in this case?

In need for some guidance, Boruto instinctively takes a few steps towards Sasuke, his sensei, his role model. When he catches sight of his face, though, he suddenly can't breathe. He has never seen his sensei in this state. There is no composure, no aloofness, no coolness at all left in him. Mismatched eyes wild, hair messy, eyebrows deeply furrowed, body as tense as a boulder... The man is visibly, irrevocably, understandably _desperate_.

Sasuke Uchiha's only and greatest weakness, Boruto realizes now, is his daughter.

He knows what happened in his sensei's life. He knows about the massacre, his older brother, and his revenge which later turned into a revolution. He knows partly from what he himself told him, but mostly from his father's own stories. He knows, then, that his deepest trauma is losing his family. That is why he is now like this.

That is why, Boruto thinks, he must do all he can to help.

* * *

As the portal closes swiftly, the black floating gate vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared, Sakura is certain that she had never been more afraid in her entire life.

That is more than considerable, as she is a ninja that had witnessed, and participated in, many horrible things – things that scar you for life and that have not drove her insane simply because she has grown used to it all – or rather, she has _forced_ herself to grow used to it all since she was merely a teenage girl. Moreover, she is a _medic_ ninja; she deals with death and pain more than she does with life and healing; she lives in blood, in wounds, in lights going off in people's tired eyes. Her heart is calloused; her mind anesthetized. She was sure she could handle practically everything by now, until today.

This is the first time in a long while – the first time since she was an innocent, pure child, perhaps – that she feels this... this vulnerable. Not even during the war, facing her husband's ancestor and then that ominous goddess, she felt like this. Not even in the many moments she bared her heart to the love of her life, and got it broken so many times until the time he fixed it himself came at last. Her heart is not just broken now; it's raw, burned, pulsing with pain like a deep, fresh wound.

Her knees are shaking. Her throat is tight, making her unable to emit another sound that is not her rapid breathing. It's panic, she understands suddenly. She's having a panic attack. And as her legs fold beneath her and she lands hard on her knees and hands, the rock ground beneath her scraping her skin, she closes her eyes and thinks: _Stop_.

And it stops. Time, that is.

Sakura focuses, hard and long, as if she were about to release her seal. She concentrates not her chakra but her thoughts, bathes them in rationality, represses the thoughts of the future that are making her lose composure like this.

 _She is gone_ , her heart says, and her mind answers, _But I will bring her back. My baby girl has been taken away_ , her heart says, and her mind answers, _And her captor will pay for that, with his own life. If I lose her I will die_ , her heart says, and her mind answers, _I won't lose her; I won't die; no one will, except that man._

 _This pain is too much,_ her heart says, and her mind answers, _I have to rescue her to make it go away._

That resolution echoes in her head as images of her daughter flash behind her eyelids. Images of her that are drenched in love. Images of her as a baby, as a toddler, as a child, as the teenager she is now. Her dark eyes and her dark hair, just like her father's. Her big, expressive eyes and her bright smile, just like her own. Their daughter. Their treasure. Sarada, Uchiha Sarada. Half her, half Sasuke.

Sasuke.

Her eyes snap open. For a moment, she reprimands herself. How selfish to focus on her own pain and ignore his, which is as great, as profound. How foolish to make herself deal with it alone, and to forget that they are in this together.

Shakily, Sakura rises to her feet. She does not know how many minutes have passed; they felt like many but were probably only a couple. Then, slowly, she turns to the man standing by her right. He is still facing the spot where the portal was, with wide-open, mismatched eyes and parted lips. The fear, the shock, the pain – it is all visible in his expression. His composure is also lost, and she did not expect otherwise. She understands him, as she always has tried to do, and mostly has succeed to do. He is the father and she is the mother – and they have lost their child.

No, not lost, she corrects herself. At least not in the definitive sense. Because they will bring her back.

"Darling," she murmurs, approaching him slowly, as if he were a wounded animal. He is not the type to react explosively, but this situation is not ordinary, so anything is possible. After all, she can barely predict or control her own reactions. It is costing her all her will power.

"Darling," she repeats, and when he finally snaps out of his trance, her heart sinks.

* * *

Desperation is something he, since his childhood, has been used to. It was part of his every day life since the day his entire family, and his brother's pure, kind heart, died. Desperation, mixed with despair and anger, adhered to his rotten soul. He was freed from it until Naruto saved him from his own self and he allowed Sakura's love to melt the ice in his heart, which made him finally regain his family, his hope, his happiness. After that, the feeling of desperation was only a nostalgic reminder of his dark past, of his redemption.

Today, that desperation has come back to life.

It is not the exact same, though. Sure, there is despair and anger, and pain, so much pain, as well as powerlessness – but it's different now. It's stronger. It's breaking him more easily than it used to. Maybe it's because he is older. Maybe he's grown weak now that, for more than a decade, he has been free of this feeling. That's why it's stronger now. That's why he's so afraid.

He might lose his family again. He already lost it once, and it was the greatest pain in his life. Having to go through it again, and this time more intensely, because it is his child, his baby... The mere idea makes his hands shake. He knows he looks just as he feels; he knows he is not able to remain stoic at this time, but he doesn't care. Nothing matters but this feeling, this dread. He might lose it all – he might lose her, his daughter, his light.

He might, but he won't. He ought to make sure of that. He ought to save her. He can't lose her. He wouldn't stand it, not this, not her. He wouldn't _survive_ it.

"Darling."

Sakura's voice is like a splash of cold water to his face. He turns to his wife, and the fact that he had forgotten she was here too shocks him. He had forgotten about everything and everyone, consumed by this desperation. How selfish of him. How cruel.

"Darling."

This is the only thing in the world that manages to make him regain composure: remembering that she is here; he still has her. He forces himself to shove his own feelings aside and focus on his wife's. No one else matters in the world, after all. No one but her, and their daughter. He knows she thinks the same way. That is why he has to support her, to work with her, to stand by her. She's the only one who understands. She's the only one who can help him.

He puts his hand on her shoulder gently. He whispers her name, very softly, and she looks at him with moist, dark green eyes. He can see immediately the desperation in her gaze, and it the same as his. He realizes that she is breaking too. Tenderness washes over him, pinning him down to reality, like an anchor.

"What are we going to do?" she asks, voice breaking despite the absence of tears.

And he answers automatically: "Rescue our child."

* * *

It's all dark for what feels like hours. Then, there is nothing but white, blinding light – and pain.

She has hit the ground suddenly, all the air leaving her lungs due to the impact. Her cheek is pressed against the ground, and she groans as dirt gets into her mouth and nostrils. She can't feel her legs and she can't see a thing. Her first immediate thought is: _It's over. They got me. They cut off my legs so I wouldn't run and then my eyes to steal the Sharingan. It's over_.

Faint, muffled, she hears the voice of her enemy: "Take her to a cell while I prepare everything in the laboratory."

A moment later, there are hands on her, pulling her to her feet. She can't stand on her own; her legs are still there, it seems, but they are currently useless. So the hands drag her, brusquely, and she grimaces, thinking of all the bruises she will find in her skin later – that is, if she gets a chance to see them before they take out her eyes.

How could she be so stupid, so weak? How did she let herself get caught? She had her teammates, the Hokage, and her beloved parents, there, fighting to protect her, and in a slip of a moment, she ruined it all. They could have saved her. They could have protected her. It was her fault they didn't. It is own her fault she's now here.

Again, she hits the ground, but she barely feels it. Her body seems to have made itself numb in order to block all the pain, and for that, she is grateful. She lays there for several moments, breathing heavily, dirt still on her tongue. Then, slowly, she uses her arms and pushes herself up. She looks around. Indeed, she is now in a cell, and it's dark again, but not as dark as before. There is one single source of light behind her. She turns and sees it's a window; outside, it's night, and there is only one big, full moon, which light filters into the cell and allows her to see a little.

She blinks her eyes, tries to discern the silhouettes of her own limbs, but they are blurry. For a moment, that confuses her, until she realizes that her glasses are gone. She can't see well, even with the moonlight. She thinks that this guy is meant to find out that her eyes are not that good, after all; her eyesight is pretty poor. She smirks humorlessly at the thought. But her eyesight is only poor when she is not using her Sharingan. With her Sharingan, and without her glasses, she can see clearly enough. So maybe the guy won't be so disappointed after all.

How strange that she has already accepted the fact that she will definitely lose her eyes forever. How pathetic.

She takes a deep breath and tries to pull herself together. No more dreadful thoughts; no more weakness. If it was her fault she is here, it's now her responsibility to get herself out of here. She has to rescue herself, whether others try to rescue her or not. In the end, the only person so can truly, forever count on is... herself.

With that thought in mind, Sarada blinks her eyes into the Sharingan and concentrates a lot of chakra into her fist before directing it to the nearest wall.

* * *

He is wounded and she is exhausted. He has to be healed, and she has to spend the rest of her chakra to heal him and many others. But neither cares about any of that. They can't afford to care anymore about anything or anyone that isn't their daughter - not about physical discomforts, not about being practical, not about other people, and not even about themselves.

Fear and love mix, allowing them the fierceness and the courage that drive them to find a solution less than an hour after her disappearance, and to get going only minutes after that. Sasuke finds the solution more quickly than he expected: since the enemy had a Rinnegan, he resolves to jump through dimensions, like he has grown used to do, until he finds the place to which his daughter was taken. He also finds the dimension soon enough; it was not far from there, in fact, which proves that this enemy is not very experienced in the Rinnegan use. Perhaps that's because he collected this rare doujutsu just recently. Sasuke can't help but wonder from which innocent person he stole it – and then to picture his big, ugly, white fingers reaching out to steal one of his daughter's eyes.

Sakura's hand on his back bring him back from his fearful, raging thoughts. "Hey," she says, and seeing how that's not enough to totally ground him to reality, she says, "Sasuke-kun."

It works fairly well. Sasuke is pulled back to rality by the memories of his youth that his name before that suffix bring: twelve-year-old Sakura calling after him, innocent and full of love; sixteen-year-old Sakura screaming at him to stop, to return, to open his eyes; nineteen-year-old Sakura laughing and sighing and moaning under his body. It makes him remember all he has been through, all he has overcome, and that this is no time to dwell on his dreadful thoughts. He looks at his wife, takes a deep breath, and nods.

"We'll bring her back," Sakura says, to both him and herself, her hand sliding down his arm to find his and lace their fingers.

"I know," he replies, also in a shaky attempt to assure both of them. He squeezes his wife's hand and then looks up front, focuses the chakra in his right eye, and summons a portal before them.

* * *

The portal remains open after Sasuke and Sakura step through it, because they know that Naruto would want to follow them, to help them. They did not talk about it, because they knew they would not be able to convince Naruto to leave this all to them, and because they secretly feared they would not be able to do it on their own anyway. So Sasuke leaves the portal open, and Naruto understands: they want, and perhaps need, his support.

Although he is not as desperate as them, for Sarada is not his daughter, Naruto truly wants to bring her back. She is his best friends' child but, even more importantly, a child from his village. As the Hokage, it is his duty to protect everyone in the village. If he cannot protect one of them, what kind of Hokage is he? A failure, of course. After all, like he has told Boruto before, all the children here are also like his own children. That is why he will leave all his clones in the village, to protect it just in case, and go to the other dimension himself.

He glances back one last time at his wife, who stands a few feet behind, expression contorted with fear, sadness, and also understanding. She nods once to him, and he can almost hear her say it: _Go, Naruto. I will wait for you. Be safe_. He musters a smile, hoping to assure her it will all be alright.

Then, he looks around for his children. He remembers that Himawari, as she has not graduated from the Academy yet, is in a refuge with the other children and non-shinobi. He hopes she won't worry too much about him. He looks for Boruto – but he is not around.

Before he can ask aloud for his son, he hears his voice behind him. "I'm going too, Dad."

Startled, Naruto turns to him and exclaims, "Like hell you are!"

Boruto is furious. "I am! She is my teammate! I want to help save her!"

Suddenly, Mitsuki walks over to them. Calmly and coldly, like that kid always acts, he says, "I will go too, Hokage-sama. We are both her teammates and we care about her."

"You two are out of your mind if you think I will allow you to do that," Naruto replies, using his stern, authoritative, fatherly voice. "You will stay here in the village and you will leave it all to me and her parents."

"Why!"

"Because you are _children_. You are no match for that enemy. You will only be a burden if you go."

The pain that flashes through his son's face makes him regret his harsh words immediately.

"No," Boruto mumbles, glaring at the ground. "It's not fair."

"Boruto..." Naruto walks over to him, softening his voice. "Son, listen to me. It's too dangerous. You can get hurt. We don't want that, do we?"

Abruptly, his son looks up at him, rage and determination back on his blue gaze. "I could have gotten hurt when we fought those other guys two years ago, too, yet I didn't. I'm strong enough, Dad. And I am not a child anymore. I can take care of myself and of others."

"Boruto-"

"Weren't you my age when you fought in, like, tons of big battles? And didn't you win most of them?"

"It was different-"

"No it wasn't. You were my age, and you fought these battles to protect your teammates. You risked your life for them, because they – they were your _friends_. You cared about them. That's all that mattered!"

Naruto is momentarily speechless.

"Sarada is my friend, Dad," Boruto concludes. "I _need_ to save her."

Mitsuki is looking at Boruto with the same admiration as him. Then, slowly, he smiles, looks up, and affirms, "Yes. I need to save my friend, too."

Naruto lets out a chuckle. How stupid of him, really. How stupid of him to underestimate any child from his village and, most importantly, his own son. This boy deserves not only a chance to save someone who is precious to him, but his father's trust.

Still smiling, Naruto puts his hand on top of his son's blond head, and says, "Alright. You two can come. But you will follow all my orders, understood? Now, let's hurry before that portal closes!"

The smile that breaks into his son's face is more radiant than the sun.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

The clones of acidic black smoke – or whatever they truly are – rush down the hallway as the dust of the wall she just destroyed dissipates. Sarada's throat tightens with fear, but she does not let it paralyze her. She screams it all out: her rage, her determination. Then she charges towards them with her first raised and her weapons ready.

This is how a good shinobi fights. She stops thinking; she simply focuses on fighting. She stops being an individual and becomes an efficient battle machine. No more personal feelings: no more self-pity, no more fear, no more longing for her village, her family and her friends. For now, nothing but killing these clones and getting out of here matters. Nothing but saving her _own_ _self_ matters. She refuses to wait to be rescued, like a damsel in distress. She can do this. She is autonomous, and smart, and capable, and-

"Well, took you long enough, little Uchiha!"

The sound of that man's terrible voice runs a shiver down her spine. She punches the last two clones and spins around to face him. He stands at the other end of the hallway, his arms opened wide and his grin wicked and blood-thirsty. He has gone back to his original form; he is not disturbingly gigantic and muscular anymore. But now that she has seen what he is really capable of, she cannot help but feel deeply intimidated.

He drops his arms slowly and relaxes his grin so that he looks downright eerie now. "I admire your courage to try to escape," he says. "However, you are being foolish. It is simply impossible to escape, little girl. Can't you see?" He motions around them: at the destroyed cell, the low ceiling, the gray walls, the darkness, the musky scent in the air. "We are underground. You have to get out of here first to go back home. And to do that, you will have to go through me... and through my people."

Sarada stops breathing as the shadows behind him shift and materialize into several clones. She wonders how he does all this: create clones from shadows, drastically change his body, manipulate more than one element at a time. She doesn't see him weaving signs. Is this some sort of peculiar kekkei genkai? What clan could this man be from? Certainly not one from Konoha. He barely looks human, though. Maybe that'd explain why he is powerful enough to beat the three Neo-Sannin, something no one else has ever managed. Could he be from the space, like those enemies two years ago? Or a descendant of a god or goddess like Kaguya? Or related to the tailed beasts?

"Who are you?" she demands, clenching her fists, turning her terrifying uncertainty into fury. "Why do you want my Sharingan?"

The man simply bursts out laughing, showing off all his sharp, yellow teeth.

"Answer me!"

Slowly, his laughter dies out. All amusement vanishes from his expression: there is nothing but boredom and, perhaps, sadness.

"My name is Eien," he answers at last, tone suddenly softer. "I am glad you care to ask. I am glad you are actually interested. People usually aren't."

Sarada grimaces with confusion, but she cannot say anything, for he continues speaking.

"I, like your father, once lost everything. My family, my future, my humanity. But unlike your father, I was utterly alone, with no one to save me from myself. Do not pity me for that, though. There is nothing wrong with being lost in your own darkness forever. It means you are stronger than everyone else. It means you can survive anything."

Sarada feels all the strength leave her limbs as she realizes that this is how her father could have ended up if he had not had the Nanaidame and Mama. Again, that familiar feeling comes: fear; fear of the person he was once, and of losing Papa, or losing herself. Papa had a curse, his whole clan did, and she might have it too. What if she, unlike Papa but like Eien, ends up alone, with nobody to save her from herself?

"This is where my darkness has taken me," Eien is saying. "I have all this power already thanks to it – but I want more, also thanks to it. I _need_ more. I need that ultimate power I once read about in some ancient scriptures of my extinct clan. This power will not only make me the most power being in the planet; it will also give me immortality, make me eternal! But to achieve it, I need to have all three doujutsus. As you see, I have two of them, and now I only need yours."

He wants her Sharingan, the main trait of her cursed clan? A tiny voice in her head screams that, fine, maybe he should have it. Maybe she does not want nor need to be an Uchiha anymore. Maybe that can save her from the curse...

Blinded by fear, unaware of her mistaken thoughts, she hesitates and almost takes a step forward, but what he says next makes her halt.

"Do you understand now, Sarada? Be a smart girl and understand that it is impossible to escape from me. And be a kind girl; allow me my ultimate power. _Surrender_ to me!"

At such words, anger spontaneously revives her body and makes her blood boil. "How dare you," she growls, "ask me to surrender?"

Eien frowns, seeing that his coaxing has failed to work on her.

"Who do you think I am?" she continues, stepping forward, but now for a different reason. "Don't you know who my parents are? Don't you know I will become Hokage one day? I am not a passive, obedient little girl. I just can't give up, Eien; it is not in my genes to give up!"

As she directs her fist to the ground, one single thought flashes in her mind: in spite of her clan's curse or her doubts or anything else, she carries the will of fire, and all she has to be strong, like her parents, in order to survive.

* * *

Naruto, Mitsuki and Boruto jump through the portal and land on a strange land where the sky is dark despite the presence of a sun. This sun is not like the one they know; it is fainter, white, like a moon, but not quite. And this land is a wasteland: there is nothing but mountains, rocks, boulders, and dust all around. No plans, no buildings, nothing. It reminds Boruto of the land where they fought two years ago, but even more desolating.

"Where are the Uchihas?" Mitsuki asks, and in that moment, they spot Sasuke and Sakura walking towards them.

"There is nothing in the perimeter," Sasuke is telling the Nanaidame. He seems composed again, although there is an opaque layer on his mismatched eyes, like an old sadness that had been there concealed all this time, but that was now revealed to the world, with no shame or restrain. "We can't sense a single presence aboveground."

"Aboveground?" Naruto repeats.

"We sense something underground," Sakura says, "but we are not certain it's them. The presences are too faint, too far from here. They must be several feet underground or somehow concealed. Clearly, he does not want us to find them, but we can."

Naruto sighs and nods thoughtfully. "I see. We got to get down there, then. But how?"

Just then, Sasuke looks at Boruto and Mitsuki. His eyes remain on the former for a longer time. His stare is so unusually intense that Boruto cannot hold it for longer than three seconds.

"Uh, yeah, sorry I brought them," Naruto says with an awkward smile. "It's just that - they are her teammates, you know? They want to help. And I promise I will take care of them, so don't wo-"

"It's okay, Naruto," Sakura says, smiling softly. "Us three would have done the exact same thing back in the days."

Boruto smiles at Sarada's mother's kindness.

"Besides," Sasuke says, snatching his attention, "I think I know exactly how they can help."

* * *

Sarada has been running down dark, narrow corridors for what feels like hours. She keeps turning right, again and again, and when it doesn't get her anywhere, she starts turning left, again and again. But that doesn't get her anywhere, either. She still can't find an exit, or anything else that isn't darkness, and gray walls, and damp, suffocating air. It is like she is in a labyrinth. She is growing desperate, terrified.

And the voices, the steps, are still right behind her. And she hears more by the minute: the shadows appear to be multiplying. And every now and then, Eien's voice stands out from the other noises, screaming, "I'll get you, little girl! Your eyes will be mine! Stop wasting our time! You are _mine_!"

Abruptly, Sarada stops, presses her back to the wall, digs her nails on her palm, and closes her eyes tightly. She breathes – in, out, in, out, in... Calm down. She needs to calm down. She can't breathe, she can't speak, she can't move. This is panic, and it's not helping at all.

"Saraaadaaa!"

They are getting closer. But what is she supposed to do now? She already tried to fight them, and all she got from that was exhaustion. The shadows just duplicate, effortlessly, and though they aren't big opponents, they are wearing her out, which is exactly their plan. If she lets them do that, she will be too tired to fight Eien when he finally decides to do so – which is also exactly their plan. So no, she can't keep fighting them. That's why she started running. But that isn't any more helpful. She is just running around like a trapped mouse, also just wearing herself out. It's pointless. It's all damn pointless.

She is trapped here.

Gasping, she sinks to the ground. Her knees have grown weak; she just can't move. All she can hear now is the frantic thumping of her heart. Panic – it's turned her useless. What kind of shinobi lets that happen? She's such a failure, such a failure...

They are on the same corridor now, on the opposite end. Without her Sharingan, Sarada can barely see their blurry silhouettes in the darkness. They aren't moving nor making a sound, just watching her. Mocking her with their silence, a silence of victory. She leans her head against the wall, feeling dizzier by the second. The figure in the front of the crowd, surely Eien, takes a step forward, and she shuts her eyes, overpowered by the peace of surrender.

Suddenly, there is an explosion, but it is far from here; it is aboveground. It startles her back into consciousness, keeps her from fainting. She looks up at the ceiling, as if she could see anything. She can't, but she can _sense_ it. Sense _them_.

"Papa! Mama!"

In an instant, their presences get stronger, closer, and relief washes over her like a wave of fresh water on her burning body.

"Well," Eien says, "this just got more annoyingly interesting."

* * *

They created one hole first. Naruto's rasengan enveloped in Sasuke's chidori got far, but not far enough. Then, down that hole, they sent Boruto's rasengan. That one truly worked. It penetrated the ground, reaching deeper than any other attack would have due to its special nature, just as Sasuke expected. He cannot help but secretly feel proud of his student. He might reward him later with an extra lesson on shuriken.

The rasengan created an opening, through which they can clearly sense his daughter's chakra, along with that psycho's and his clones'. They're all down there, Sarada on her own, and all those pieces of shit trying to harm her... The simple thought is making his blood boil. The only thing that is keeping him composed is the knowledge that his daughter is there, still alive, and they are going to save her soon.

Sakura efficiently widens the opening with her fist in order for everyone to get through it. Once it's done, Sasuke moves desperately, ahead of everyone else. He just wants all of this to end already. He wants to kill that bastard, make sure his existence is completely vanished from this world, make him suffer before mercilessly obliterating him. Then, he wants to have his daughter in his arms and run back to the village, get her inside their house, keep her safe, keep her safe and sound forever. He does not want this ugly world to ever get its hands on her again. She doesn't deserve it. She deserves happiness and safety and all the good things he lacked when he was her age. It is all he wants, more than he wants to be alive.

The hole ends right above a corridor. Sasuke stops there, as the others land on the ground behind him. Sharingan and Rinnegan on, he looks around, inspects his surroundings: low ceilings, no lights, humid air, the scent of dust... This is like a dungeon. He can't believe his daughter was kept here for hours.

"They're that way," Naruto says, pointing to the right end of the corridor. Sasuke can barely see him or the others in the dark; he can only hear and sense him, and see his blurry silhouette.

"Uh, I think it's actually that way," Mitsuki pipes in, pointing to the opposite side.

Sasuke turns to Sakura. He catches her gaze, green and brighter than anything in this darkness, and sees the doubt in it. She is also not sure which way it is. Briefly, Sasuke wishes he had brought with him a sensor, someone who would get them to their daughter quickly and efficiently. But there is no turning back now; they are here, and they need to move.

Just as he is about to propose they should split up into two groups, they hear a scream.

"Papa! Mama!"

It's to the left, then.

He starts running before his mind even commands his body.

* * *

The corridors are eternal despite the fact that Sasuke is running at his full speed, leaving the others several steps behind. He just can't seem to get there soon enough. He wants to be there right now, grab his daughter, destroy the enemy, and take her as far as he can, back home, back into safety. Such desperation, such powerlessness and urgency – it is making his heart race and constrict.

All he can think about is that time, eight years ago, when he felt something pretty similar. It was not as intense as what he feels now, only because his daughter had not been taken, had only been in danger of it. He remembers being in a far off dimension, still looking for traces of Kaguya, and suddenly and inexplicably having a bad feeling. It worried him, which he found unreasonable, yet he decided to listen to his gut. He exited the dimension and began traveling south, towards Konoha.

Not even an hour later, a messenger slug reached him with a single message. His stomach sank. He knew immediately that good news couldn't be this urgent.

"Sasuke-sama! There's an emergency regarding Sarada!"

No more words needed to be uttered. Sasuke immediately began running, at full speed, just as he is now. He was several miles away, almost already out of the Fire country, yet he arrived to the village in less than half an hour, out of breath not from running, but from having his racing heart right in his throat.

He barged in through his house's door and found Sakura sitting on the floor, with Sarada's small body in her arms. The house was a mess: broken furniture, scattered papers, holes in the walls. In a distant corner of the living room lay three dead bodies, their bones visibly shattered, undoubtedly by Sakura's ruthless fists.

"What..." He could not even finish the question. All he could see now was the green glow of his wife's hands upon their daughter's pale face, and the limpness of the little girl's body, and the blood on Sakura's dress and hair, and the tears running down her pale cheeks.

"She's alive," Sakura said in a trembling voice, not taking her eyes off their daughter. "But they... did something, to her eyes, before I... I couldn't... in time..."

Sasuke took a few steps and dropped to his knees in front of his family, his only family. He felt light-headed, as if he were about to faint. He wanted to scream, to cry, to murder, but his body was unresponsive, numb. He could only put his arm around his wife's shoulders and silently watch her heal their child.

"They wanted her eyes," Sakura told him later, when Sarada was put to bed, with only a slight fever, and they had calmed down. "I don't know why, or who they even are, but I'm sure they came for her eyes, Sasuke-kun. They're valuable, word is spreading about it, and these men tried to steal them."

When his wife had finally fallen asleep at the edge of their daughter's bed, Sasuke cleaned up the house, got rid of the bodies, and went to talk to Naruto about reinforcing security on Sarada. Afterwards, when he came home, Sakura, puffy-eyed and pale, was waiting for him in the living room with a cup of tea and a tired yet welcoming smile.

They sat on the broken couch, her head on his shoulder and his eyes closed as her familiar scent enveloped him. "I didn't see it coming. Sarada got home from school only minutes before I came back from the grocery store. They were already here, waiting. That's why they had time to... to hurt her. I'm so sorry-"

"No," he said, pressing his cheek to her forehead, "don't be. You saved her. It is all my fault. I should have been here to protect, Sakura, to keep them from laying a finger on her. God, I would have never left if I'd known this could happen..."

"But I promised you to protect her. I promised you she would be safe and you didn't have to worry. I have failed you."

"No, you haven't. You did all you could. It was I who failed, because I left it all to you." He put the tea away and pulled her against his chest with his sole arm. "I can't go again, Sakura. I can't let this happen again"

She looked up at him with sad, desperate eyes. "You must go, Sasuke. Your mission is important. We all need you."

"But our daughter is more important, and she needs me more."

"Darling..." Her eyes filled with tears again. "We took a decision three years ago. Don't forget the purpose of it all. Remember what I told you then?"

He nodded and quoted softly, "'You ought to protect her future. Leave her present in my hands.'"

"This will never happen again," she promised. "I will protect her present, even better now, until you come back."

That night, he stayed in the village. He made love to his wife, slept for a couple of hours, and left at sunrise. For the next years, whenever he felt the urge to go back to stay, he remembered what she told him then. She was right, as always: their child's future was his responsibility, while hers was her present. And he trusted her completely, more than he trusted himself.

She kept her promise. Something of the sort never happened again. That incident costed them their daughter's eyesight, but thanks to Sakura's healing abilities, Sarada only needed a pair of glasses to go back to normal. A shinobi with glasses, let alone an Uchiha, was not ideal, but Sasuke cared only about her wellbeing and her happiness. While Sakura protected them from the inside, he did it from outside the village by investigating anyone that could be interested in stealing his child's eyes, and then killing them efficiently, which is why the investigation of Kaguya took him a little more time.

After that time, nobody harmed their daughter again – until now.

* * *

Eien summons twice the clones. They crowd the narrow corridor, serving as an obstacle between Sarada and her rescuers. She loathes him deeply right then; she wants to scream at him to leave her alone, please leave her alone, she doesn't want to suffer, she is so exhausted, she wants her parents, her village, her peace. But she is too weakened to even utter a word. When she finally glimpses the silhouettes of her rescuers – Papa's tall figure, next to Mama's shorter, and then the Hokage with his cape, and two other figures with spiky hair, her teammates – she can only sigh with gratitude.

Maybe this will finally be over soon.

"Oh, so you found us!" Eien screams, sounding both angry and delighted.

"Give me back my daughter, you rotten piece of-"

Her mother interrupts her own furious sentence with a punch towards the first row of clones in her way. The walls and the floor shake, and Sarada smiles faintly, both scared and proud of her monstrous strength.

"You don't scare me, woman," Eien says casually, unaffected. "Your fancy marks, your apprenticeship with a former Hokage, your big punches – they are meaningless, because I know your weakness."

Out of a sudden, he teleports, appearing right behind Sarada. She lets out a gasp and freezes when she feels his cold fingers around his throat, his long nails tangling with her hair, and his foul breath against her shoulder. "I have it right in my hands," he laughs maniacally.

Mama growls again, punches again, but Eien is unfazed. He keeps laughing, as if enjoying this, like a lion playing with his preys before devouring them.

Then, two voices scream in unison, "Rasengan!"

There is a flash of light, against which she closes her eyes. Eien's grip on her neck disappears a moment after, and she senses his presence, and her heart tumbles with joy, before she even hears his voice behind her, behind Eien.

"Not for long," Papa says, and then there is a sizzling sound, like a thousand birds screaming, and Eien joins them with his own scream of agony.


End file.
